Pretty Little Lovers
by louishansen
Summary: This is basically Pretty Little Liars, but the main characters are the special someones of the original main characters. Except for in Ali and Noel's case. But I made Noel Ali, because he's a lot like Ali. I do not own Pretty Little Liars, or the characters. Please write reviews, and be honest. Also be brutal.
1. Chapter 1

August 30th, 2010

"What are you guys so nervous about? This is gonna be fun as heck," Noel Kahn stated.

"I don't know, Noel. It's really stormy out. Is going into a dark cave to spend the night really the best idea?" Ezra Fitz worried.

"It isn't," Toby Cavanaugh pointed out.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Noel inquired.

"We could get lost, and die!" Caleb Rivers yelled.

"That's a little extreme, Cay. Now, is there pond anywhere where I can swim?" Paige McCullers asked.

"And make out with my sister," Noel muttered. Paige immediately shut up. Noel had seen Paige kissing his sister, Erica Kahn, and wouldn't lighten up about her secret. He'd even told her that the only reason Erica had kissed her was for practice for the real thing. Noel ignored his friend's warnings, and went inside. Paige quickly followed, then Caleb, and Toby. Ezra sighed, and went in.

"See guys. This'll be fun. And it's necessary. Considering it's our last night of summer," Noel announced.

"So, has anyone heard about the new tux place in Rosewood? I can't wait to check it out before homecoming," Caleb said, excitedly.

"Yeah. If you can fit into any of them," Noel joked, then to Caleb, "What's with you and fashion, Cay?"

"So what? I care about my hair, and my looks? That is usually considered a good thing," Caleb insisted.

"And a gay thing," Noel scoffed.

"Not always," Caleb replied, "Cause I'm not gay, En."

"What's wrong with being gay?" Paige asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with it," Toby, Ezra, and Caleb stated, glaring at Noel. Noel rolled his eyes again. Sometimes my friends can be so dramatic, he thought, I was just joking.

"So…Ezra, have you seen that new show where the kid catches her dad making out with his student in the back of a car?" Noel smirked, "It's just a horrible concept." Ezra winced. Noel was the only one of Ezra's friends that knew his dad was cheating on his mom with a student. Noel had been with Ezra when he found out.

"Noel," Ezra sneered, "Stop." Noel chuckled.

"So, Caleb. Where's the beer you supposedly brought?" Noel asked. Caleb smiled, and pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his bag. Noel took it, and slipped something in it without letting the boys and Paige see. Then he passed it to Ezra. Ezra began to drink.

"Careful, Ezra. If you drink too much, you might tell us all your secrets," Toby advised.

"That's a good thing. Secrets keep us close," Noel reminded them. The bottle made its way around the circle many times, no one noticing that Noel hadn't drunk a sip of it.

Ezra woke up, and groaned. He had an insane headache. Then he realized that both Noel, and Toby were gone.

"Paige. Paige," Ezra said, poking her. Paige, and Caleb wake up.

"Were are Toby, and Noel?" Caleb asked.

"We don't know," Ezra replied, brushing away one of his pink highlights. The boys, and Paige stand up. They start looking around for the two that are missing. Ezra suddenly hears someone walking. He walked over to the entrance of the cave and looked out.

"Noel. Toby. Are you guys out there?" Ezra inquired. Suddenly Toby came into view. He looked distraught and lost.

"Noel's gone," Toby said as he came closer, "And I think I heard him scream."


	2. Chapter 2

August 30th, 2011

The paperboy biked past an old, Victorian, house. He knew that house. It was the house of Ezra Fitz, a friend of the missing boy. The paperboy screeched to a stop, and tossed a paper into the front yard. Then he continued forward on his ever-so-familiar route. A couple minutes later, Ezra opened the door. The pink highlights were gone from his hair, and he looked a lot more sophisticated. He walked out onto the porch. After spotting the paper, he went over and picked it up. His face immediately dropped. _Noel Kahn, missing for a year today. His friends and family all want him to come home safe and sound. Hopefully the universe can give them that_. Right above the caption was Noel's yearbook picture from freshman year. His black hair was perfect, his blue eyes were shining, and his white teeth were perfectly straight.

"Why did you suggest that we go to that cave, En?" Ezra looked up, "You could still be here." It wasn't proven, but everyone assumed that Noel was dead. Why else would he have been missing for a full year? Ezra headed back inside to do more unpacking. The Fitz's had recently gotten back from Europe. They had been there for Mr. Fitz's sabbatical. Ezra hadn't been home since a couple days after Noel disappeared. Paige, Ezra, Toby, and Caleb had kind of grown apart since the sleepover. When Ezra was almost to his room, Wes, Ezra's little brother, rushed past. He accidently bumped Ezra against the wall.

"Oops. Sorry, Ezra. Have you seen my lacrosse stick?" Wes asked.

"No," Ezra shook his head.

"Ugh," Wes mumbled, "I can't find it anywhere."

"Wes! Do you need a ride to practice?" Diana Fitz yelled down the hall.

"I'll take him, Mom!" Ezra replied. Ezra and Wes headed back to the main area of the house. Mr. Fitz was leaning against the wall. He had his arm wrapped around Diana.

"God. My lacrosse stuff is in like, all of these boxes," Wes groaned as he searched more.

"All of them?" Diana questioned.

"Okay. Some of them," Wes tried again.

"That's better," she said. After Wes found his stuff, Ezra drove him to Rosewood High. Just as he was about to run off, Ezra stopped him.

"Wait. Wes, what time should I pick you up?" he asked.

"6:30," Wes replied, "Oh, and bro…thanks."

"No problemo," Ezra smiled. Then, as Wes went into the school, Ezra thought about calling his friends. But he decided against it. After dropping his phone back onto the passengers' seat, Ezra drove off towards Snookers, a Hollis college bar.

Ezra studied over the menu. There was, what looked like, a college girl sitting a few seats down from him. But they were the only two there.

"I'll have a cheeseburger," Ezra stated. Then as he looked up, he spotted an old missing poster for Noel. The same, school, photo was pasted onto the flyer. It sent chills up Ezra's spine just looking at it.

"Are you okay down there?" the girl asked, scooting to the seat next to him.

"Yeah. I just got back from Iceland, so I'm a little jet lagged," Ezra explained. Not wanting to tell this nice girl that he was one of Noel's friends.

"Oh. Wow. I've spent some time there myself. How long were you there?" the girl replied. She had a nice smile, and glowing, dark, brown hair.

"A year," Ezra said.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"So, are you a student here…?" Ezra began, realizing he didn't know her name.

"Aria. And, I just graduated at the beginning of June," Aria announced.

"Ezra. And oh my god. I love this song," Ezra marveled as his favorite song came on over the radio.

"I do to," Aria exclaimed, "I'd like to learn more about you, Ezra."

"I'd like to learn more about you too," Ezra replied. Aria and Ezra, then, engage in a long make out session in the Snooker's bathroom. What losing a friend does to a kid.


	3. Chapter 3

Caleb Rivers looked over the collection of shades he'd pulled off the display. There were so many to choose from, and so little time until he and Lucas needed to get home.

"Hey, Cay. Do you think this fedora is the one?" Lucas asked him. Caleb turned around and studied Lucas's choice.

"Are you trying to look like a dork, Lucas?" Caleb answered truthfully.

"Next one it is," Lucas replied, chuckling slightly. Caleb smiled, and slipped on another pair of shades. That pair was definitely the pair. All of a sudden, Caleb spotted Toby across a couple aisles. He was looking at some dress shirts.

"I'll be right back," Caleb reassured the salesperson that was helping him choose. The salesperson nodded, and Caleb headed over towards Toby.

"Wow. Toby Cavanaugh actually has time to shop?" Caleb questioned.

"Yes," Toby smiled.

"Well, between your internship with the mayor, tutoring middle schoolers, and keeping up with your Facebook and Twitter, I'm surprised," Caleb replied.

"I like to keep busy, Caleb," Toby stated the obvious.

"Whatever," Caleb shook his head.

"Did you see the paper today?" Toby said, "He might be gone, he's still everywhere."

"Yeah," Caleb nodded, looking nostalgically at the shirt Toby had just picked out, "What's the occasion?"

"Oh. We're finally meeting Jenna's fiancé tonight, and my parents want me to dress decently," Toby replied, rolling his eyes for effect.

"Well then. That's not what you're looking for. Jenna's had the attention for years. Let the attention be on you for once," Caleb objected, handing Toby a black dress jacket, a white button down, and a black bow tie.

"Really?" Toby inquired, "You really think my parents will pay attention to me?"

"If you're wearing that to meeting your sister's fiancé. Then, yes, I do," he smiled. And with that, Caleb waved, and took off towards the entrance to the mall. Caleb felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a cop, and thought for sure he'd been caught.

"You forgot your cellphone, sir," the security guard stated, handing Caleb his phone.

"Oh. Thank you," Caleb said. The guard nodded, and headed back to the mall area. Caleb flipped the shades in front of his eyes, and jogged towards the exit. Lucas met him halfway, with a killer fedora.

"Nice shades," Lucas smirked.

"Nice fedora," Caleb smiled. Lucas and Caleb jogged out of the mall, and towards their cars. Caleb climbed into his Prius, and drove off towards his house.


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Fitz pulled up to the school. He'd given both Ezra, and Wes a ride to school. He let Wes dash off, but stopped Ezra.

"Ezra. I know being back in Rosewood brings up a lot of stuff…" he began.

"I'm still going to keep your secret, Dad," Ezra looked at him.

"Ezra. I also want you to know that the affair was a mistake. CeCe means nothing to me, and I love your mother so, so much," he finished.

"Sure you do," Ezra rolled his eyes. Then he got out of the car, and slammed the door behind him. As his dad drove off, Ezra was flung into a flashback.

 _Ezra and Noel were walking along the sidewalk to get to Ezra's house. They were eating frozen yogurt, and talking about Call of Duty._

 _"_ _Don't you just love that new level?" Noel asked._

 _"_ _So much," Ezra replied, taking another bite of his chocolatey swirl. All of a sudden Lucas was behind them, calling their names._

 _"_ _Ezra! Noel! I play video games too! A lot of them!" he yelled._

 _"_ _Walk faster, Ezra. We don't want him to catch up with us," Noel ordered._

 _"_ _You guys! You guys! Guys?" Lucas tried again and again. Finally he just sad down on the curb. Noel laughed._

 _"_ _Should we go back for him? I feel bad," Ezra stated._

 _"_ _Don't, Ezra. He's fine," Noel assured. Then they passed the alleyway. Ezra's dad's car was parked in it._

 _"_ _Hey. Ez, isn't that your dad's car?" Noel inquired._

 _"_ _Yeah. I wonder what it's doing—-'' Ezra's thoughts were interrupted by what he was seeing. His dad was having a hands on education with one of his students, in the back of a car, in an alleyway. And Mr. Fitz saw Ezra, therefore knowing that he knew._

"Ezra Fitz! Is that really you?!" Paige McCullers exclaimed. Ezra turned around. There was Paige. She was dressed in a denim skirt, a yellow shirt, and a turquoise sweater.

"Yep. I'm back," Ezra replied, smiling.

"Wow," Paige began as they started walking, "The last time I saw you, I think you had pink highlights in your hair."

"Yeah, well…you know. Teenager struggles. Not knowing what you want. That all gets solved when you go to Iceland for a year," Ezra explained.

"Ah…well…It's nice to have you back," Paige smiled.

"It's nice to be back," Ezra stated, "Oh. Except, in Iceland, there weren't pictures of Noel Kahn everywhere."

"Yep. It is weird seeing pictures of your dead best friend everywhere," Paige spoke.

"What?"

"Um…I thought we all just suspected he was dead?" Paige questioned.

"Of course. I just…haven't heard anyone say it aloud," Ezra said as they headed into the school. Paige nodded, and they headed towards their lockers. Paige, and Ezra walked into their first period.

"I heard the new English teacher is really hot, if you're into older girls," Paige stated. Caleb pranced into the classroom. He was dressed in tight skinny jeans, black high tops, a white V-neck, and a black hoodie.

"Whoa. Is that Caleb?" Ezra glared.

"Yep. He's the main boy now," Paige replied. Ezra couldn't even believe how much weight Caleb had lost in just a year. Lucas came into the classroom a couple seconds later. He was wearing tan skinny jeans, high top Converse, and a light blue V-neck.

"And his side kick, Lucas. They go everywhere together,"

"There's no way that's Lucas," Ezra stared in disbelief. Gone were Lucas's glasses, and scruffy hair. His black hair was styled perfectly, and he must have been wearing contacts.

"Well. I'm pretty sure it is," Paige insisted.

"Wow. Makeover extreme," Ezra mumbled. Caleb waved, and turned back to Lucas.

"What's going on with you two?" Ezra asked.

"Ezra, you weren't the only one we fell out of touch with. We all fell out of touch," Paige explained. Toby walked passed, smiling shyly at Caleb. Caleb smiled back, then continued to talk to Lucas.

"They aren't as close either," Paige said.

"So they aren't friends, but they're friendly," Ezra stated. Paige nodded. The two walked to the middle of the classroom, and sat down next to each other. The new English teacher entered, and wrote her name on the board. Ezra looked over the first page of the book they were reading in class that year. The teacher turned around, and Ezra looked up at the same time. Aria, from the bar, was the teacher.

"Oh. My. God," Aria's eyes widen. Everybody smirks, looking back at Ezra. Ezra's phone pinged.

"Uh…sorry," he mumbled. Ezra looked down at the new text.

"Um…I'm Ms. Montgomery. Your English teacher," Aria stated. _She probably makes out with students all the time. Most teachers do. Just ask your dad. –A_ , Ezra read. He gasped.

"Noel was the only one that knew that secret," 


	5. Chapter 5

Paige McCullers passed by Leon's Cupcakes on her familiar route to the police station, where her mom worked. But she stopped in her tracks as she took in the new worker. She had beautiful brown hair, and matching eyes. Paige blushed as the girl caught her staring. The girl made her way over.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Um…Nah. Uh…Sorry for staring," Paige replied, stuttering.

"Oh. Whatever. I'm flattered. My name's Sara. Sara Harvey," the girl stated.

"I'm Paige. Paige McCullers," Paige replied, shaking Sara's outstretched hand. Sara tucked her order booklet back into her Leon's apron.

"So…I'm new at Rosewood High. What would you suggest for blending in?" she inquired. Paige laughed.

"Try not having a missing best friend," she stated.

"Oh…" Sara spoke, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was rude of me to say that," Paige replied. Sara smiled sympathetically. Paige winced. She hated it when people looked at her that way.

"So, where you headed?" Sara asked.

"The police station. My mom works there," Paige explained.

"Wow. Cool," Sara marveled, "What does she do?"

"She just keeps track of important evidence," Paige told.

"Ah," Sara nodded, "Well…what have you been doing for two hours?"

"What?" Paige stared.

"School got out two hours ago. What did you do in between the end of school, and now?"

"Oh," Paige got it, "I'm a swimmer. I had practice."

"Sweet !" Sara exclaimed, "I've never had a jock friend before."

"We're friends?" Paige inquired.

"If that's okay with you," Sara stated.

"That's cool," Paige laughed nervously. Sara smiled. Paige couldn't help but to marvel at her smile. It was like an angel was smiling at her.

"Great! Can I have your number?" she asked.

"Yeah," Paige swallowed. She nervously typed her number into Sara's contacts.

"Coolio. I'll text you later," Sara smirked.

"Ye…Yeah," Paige hiccuped. Thankfully, Sara didn't seem to hear it. Sara smiled her killer smile, and went back to working. Paige swallowed again, and continued on her way to the station. When she got there, her mom was sitting at her desk, as usual.

"Hey, Mom," Paige greeted.

"Hi, sweetie. How was the first day of school?" Mrs. McCullers replied.

"It was good. Practice was good too," Paige stated.

"Great. So, I ran into Mrs. Fitz earlier. I didn't know they were back," Claire said.

"I didn't either, until I saw Ezra at school today," Paige assured. Paige's mom nodded, and looked down at her phone. It was 5:30.

"I was thinking maybe you could stay here until six, and then we could go out to dinner," Mrs. McCullers suggested. Paige turned to look at her.

"Yeah. That sounds really fun," she smiled. But Paige's mind was somewhere else. She couldn't stop thinking about Sara. This was the first real crush she'd had since Erica. And she happened to be dating Alex. Paige sat down on once of the station benches, and waited for her mom to be done. As she was waiting, her phone pinged. _I guess you're over Erica, that's for the best anyway. *wink* —A_. Paige's eyes bulged. Only one person other than Erica knew that she'd made out with her, and that was Noel.

"You know what, Mom? I don't think I can do dinner tonight. Maybe another time," Paige spoke frantically.

"Is everything okay, Pay?" Claire asked.

"Yes, Mom. Everything's fine," Paige replied. And with that she grabbed her swim bag, kissed her mom's cheek, and hurried out of the station. She walked passed Leon's again, and found her car. Then she drove straight home. Paige jumped out of her car, and flew into her house, and upstairs. She found the picture of her and Erica that Noel had taken with his phone.

"God. How did this get out?" Paige asked herself, "I was so careful." She went into her parent's room, and found Nick's lighter. Then she set the picture on fire.

"Shit," Paige cursed as she accidentally burned herself. She waited for the picture to turn completely black, then she blew out the fire. Paige dropped the charred picture into the wastebasket, and went into the bathroom to attend to her burn. She ran it under cold water, and wrapped it in an alcohol swab.

"Shit," she cursed again, the pain unbearable. After cleaning it, Paige wrapped her hand in an ace wrap. Her phone pinged again in her pocket. _Burning the picture won't make it disappear, but if you continue to try, you might. —A_. Paige gasped again. Whoever this A person was knew all her secrets, and was watching her. Paige wondered if this was happening to her old friends as well. She decided to find out. Paige grabbed her phone, purse, and car keys. She exited her house, and got back in her car. Then she drove off in the direction of Ezra's house. Paige didn't know why she decided to start with him, she just did.


	6. Chapter 6

Caleb Rivers paced nervously around his room. Lucas had just texted him, telling him to call him. Something about video footage.

"Caleb," Lucas picked up.

"Yeah?" Caleb inquired.

"I think the Rosewood Mall has footage of you stealing those shades," Lucas replied.

"What?!" Caleb exclaimed, "How?!"

"I don't know, Cay," Lucas said, "I don't know." Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Gotta go, Lucas. Text you later," Caleb spoke.

"Okay. Bye," Lucas stated, hanging up. Caleb stuck his phone in his pocket, and made his way to the top of the stairs. Mrs. Rivers was opening the door.

"Mrs. Rivers. Is your son here?" Detective Holbrook asked.

"Yes. Why?" Mrs. Rivers replied.

"Because he's under arrest for stealing a pair of sunglasses from the Rosewood Mall," Holbrook replied. Caleb breath stopped in his throat, and he choked. Mrs. Rivers' mouth dropped open. Holbrook looked up, spotting Caleb.

"Mr. Rivers, please come here," he stated. Caleb obliged. Mrs. Rivers stood there looking disappointed as Holbrook cuffed Caleb. He was ushered into Holbrook's car. Mrs. Rivers sat down next to him. Holbrook didn't bother putting on his sirens as he drove towards the station. When they got there, Holbrook escorted Caleb into the waiting room by his office. Then he and Mrs. Rivers went into his office. Caleb waited patiently for what was to come. He took a doughnut, and a glass of milk from the refresh station, and scarfed them down. Just as he was about to get out his phone, and text Lucas, it pinged. _Too much more of that and you'll be that fattest inmate in prison. —A_. Caleb choked again. When he was finally able to bring air into his lungs, he quickly composed a text to Lucas. _I got busted. Thanks for trying to warn me. I'll give an update when I have one. —Caleb_. A couple minutes later, Mrs. Rivers came out of the office.

"What's happening to me?" Caleb asked.

"I've handled it. We're going. Come on," she replied.

"What? How?" Caleb prodded.

"Not now, Caleb," Mrs. Rivers snapped. Caleb followed his mom out into the parking lot. Their car was parked in the first space.

"How did this get here?" Caleb asked.

"Detective Holbrook had one of his partners drive it over while we were in there," Mrs. Rivers explained.

"Ah," Caleb nodded, getting into the passengers' seat, "Mom. Are you gonna let me explain?" Mrs. Rivers looked over at him. She didn't even look disappointed anymore.

"I know why you did this, Caleb. I know you think he's coming back, but I doubt he is," she stated. Caleb's dad had left them for another woman. Caleb thought that if he got arrested, his dad would come back to Rosewood to talk to him.

"Right," Caleb sulked, "I won't do it again,"

"Good," Mrs. Rivers said. Caleb's phone pinged again. _Ooh. That sucks. I'll look for you at school tomorrow so we can talk. —Lucas_. Caleb smiled, and put away his phone.

"Who was that?" Caleb's mom asked.

"Lucas," Caleb replied.

"Ah," Mrs. Rivers smiled, "Of course it is."

"Hey. He doesn't text me that much," Caleb objected.

"Yeah, sure he doesn't," Mrs. R chuckled. Caleb rolled his eyes, and looked out the window. When Mrs. Rivers pulled up to their house, Caleb jumped out. He went into his house, and went to get a healthy snack.

"Don't spoil your dinner, Cay!" Mrs. Rivers yelled as she entered the house. Caleb grabbed a carrot, and began chomping away.

"I won't!" Caleb called back, his mouth full of carrot.

"Ew. Caleb, don't talk with your mouth full," Mrs. Rivers scolded. Caleb smiled, and then closed his mouth to chew more. Caleb sat down at the island. He finished his carrot as Mrs. Rivers made dinner.

"What are we having?" he whined.

"We're having food, Caleb," Mrs. R replied.

"What kind of food," Caleb begged.

"Good food," she teased.

"Ugh. I hate you," Caleb complained.

"I'm sure you do," Mrs. Rivers smiled. Caleb groaned again, and went back to his carrot.

"Okay. When are you gonna be done with dinner?" he asked.

"I'm _going_ _to_ be done with dinner whenever I'm done with dinner," Mrs. Rivers said. Caleb rolled his eyes, and chomped down on the end of his carrot.

"I'm going upstairs. Call me when dinner's ready," Caleb stated, spitting the carrot butt in the sink as he made his way towards the stairs. Mrs. Rivers smiled, and went back to cooking. Caleb smiled back, and headed to his room. When he got there, he saw something on his computer that caught his eye. _One new IM_. Caleb hadn't gotten an instant message in a year. Not since Noel left. So, he clicked on it. _Happy that your mom saved your butt? You wouldn't be if you knew how. I'd buy a crib before tomorrow night. —A_. As Caleb wondered what in the world that meant, he heard his mom's voice.

"Cay! Dinner time!" she yelled. Caleb glanced at the screen, and then closed his laptop.


	7. Chapter 7

Toby Cavanaugh tightened the knot on his tie. He couldn't believe he'd let Caleb convince him to wear a suit. Toby thought for sure that if his parents didn't kill him, Jenna would. But, after taking a deep breath, he headed downstairs.

"Toby," Jenna sneered as he sat down, "What are you wearing?"

"A suit. I thought you wanted me to dress up for this dinner," Toby replied.

"Just a simple dress shirt, and jeans would have been fine," she said.

"Oh well," Toby smirked.

"Ugh!" Jenna screeched. She stomped out back to find her other half. Toby laughed. He made a note to thank Caleb at school the next day. Daniel and Marion Cavanaugh finished placing the food on the table. They sat down at the separate heads of the table.

"Toby, sit down," Mrs. Cavanaugh ordered.

"You look very nice tonight, son," Mr. Cavanaugh added.

"Thank you," Toby smiled, sitting down across from where Jenna and Ian would be sitting. Jenna reentered the dining room. Her arms were linked with Ian's. Ian had light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He was dressed a rose pink button down over a gray t-shirt, and blue jeans. Toby beamed. He looked way better than Ian.

"You must be Ian!" Marion exclaimed, "We're very happy to finally meet you."

"Yes," Daniel agreed, "Right, Toby?"

"Of course. You're all Jenna talks about," Toby stated, still beaming. Jenna glared at him, a look of pure fury in her green eyes.

"It's great to meet you guys too. Jenna has told me so much about you all," Ian said, looking at Toby out of the corner of his eye. A realization hit Toby as he studied Ian. Judging by the way Ian barely touched his sister at all, Toby believed that Ian didn't actually like her. He was probably just using Jenna for something. Which didn't bother Toby at all. The couple sat down across from Toby. Jenna kicked his leg under the table. Toby winced, but didn't yell at her.

"So, Ian what's it like to be a doctor?" he inquired. Ian smiled at him, tucking a loose strand of Jenna's hair behind her ear.

"It's great. You learn not to take things for granted I guess," he replied. Toby nodded. Marion looked between Toby and Ian. She smiled, mouthing thank you to Toby. Toby had promised Marion earlier that day that he would try as best he could to make Ian welcome. Even though Ian and Jenna were moving into the barn that he'd spent weeks re-modeling so he could live there for junior year.

"Ian's the best doctor that graduated in his class," Jenna stated proudly. Ian looked at her.

"It's really not that impressive. There were a lot of good doctors in that class," he corrected. Jenna glared at him.

"Well, that's wonderful none-the-less," Marion smiled, "Daniel and I are trying to get Toby to go to med school. Maybe you can give him a preview of what it would be like, Ian."

"It would be my pleasure," Ian said.

"Great," Toby spoke. Jenna's face was so red she looked either like a tomato, or like she was about to explode. Toby couldn't tell whether it was because of anger or embarrassment. But he was beaming at her anyway.

"We should eat dinner before it gets cold, but welcome to our family, Ian. You'll fit right in," Daniel pointed out. Marion, Ian, and Toby nodded.

"I'm glad to be joining it," Ian replied. The food was passed around the table, and scooped onto plates. And once everyone was ready to eat, they dug in.

"This is great, Mom! Thanks for making dinner!" Toby exclaimed.

"Yes, Marion, this is some of the best lobster I've ever had," Ian agreed, "And I've had a lot of lobster in my lifetime." Mrs. Cavanaugh smiled as she took another bite of the lobster.

"Thank you, boys," she stated. Jenna was clomping down so hard on every bite she took that the neighbors could probably hear it.

"Jen, sweetie, if you chew that hard you're going to break your teeth," Ian cooed, reaching out to place a hand on Jenna's wrist. Jenna put her opposite hand on top of his. Toby almost spit out a piece of lobster when he saw the tattoo on the back of Jenna's hand. It was the same one he's seen on Ian's right hand when the couple had walked into the dining room earlier. He hadn't thought much of it than, thinking it was probably just the result of a little too much party at med school. But Jenna had never gone to med school. The tattoo was a simple one. The color of a chalkboard, and the simple shape of an A. As soon as Jenna saw Toby's eyes on the tattoo, she stuffed her hand under her napkin. Almost like Toby wasn't allowed to see it. At that exact moment the doorbell rang.

"I'll," Toby swallowed, looking nervously at Jenna and Ian, "I'll get it." He hopped up, and walked as calmly as he could to the front door. When he opened it, his old friends, Caleb, Paige, and Ezra were pacing in back and forth in front of the door. They looked at each other.

"We need to talk."


	8. Chapter 8

Paige still wasn't used to being in Toby's house again. What they were talking about wasn't exactly welcoming anyway. Toby was the only one that hadn't gotten a message from the infamous A. A was an anonymous stalker/prank-texter that was sending texts to Paige, Ezra, and Caleb about their secrets. Coming up with a list of possible suspects wasn't as hard as it should be. Being Noel's friends, they'd had a lot more enemies than they'd cared to admit. One of them being Spencer Hastings. A "goody to-shoes", straight A student who'd never ever forgotten to do her homework. But that all changed after Noel and the others convinced Spencer to confess to paralyzing her step-sister so they would be in the clear. The paralyzing had been an accident. It was April fool's Day, and Noel thought it would be funny to trick Melissa and Spencer into thinking they were invited to a rocket building club meeting in Noel's garage. When they'd come into the garage Noel was setting up a poster that said they'd been pranked, but his elbow accidently knocked the button of one of the rockets. Melissa had been thrown backwards by the force of the rocket, and she was paralyzed from the waist down. Noel and Toby had pleaded for Spencer to confess. Saying it was an accident. It was her first offense ever, so maybe they'd cut her some slack.

"But no one's seen Spencer since the day after Melissa was paralyzed," Ezra pointed out. Toby nodded.

"I know, but it's possible she was just keeping on the down-low so she could plan this to get us back," Toby stated.

"Actually, that's not true," Paige finally spoke. Caleb, Toby, and Ezra all looked at her. Ezra opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

"What do you mean? Paige, what do you mean?" Caleb asked.

"I thought I saw her the other day. I was passing the Grill. I saw a brunette girl that looked like Spencer from the back. She and someone in a wheelchair were sitting by the window. They turned, looking out the window. It was them. And they stared right at me," Paige explained. Everyone was silent. They couldn't believe that Spencer and Melissa were back. After three years.

"How long have they been back?" Toby wondered.

"Four days," someone said, startling them. They all turned to see where the voice had come from. An attractive, young, police officer stood in the doorway. He was leaning on the doorframe like he'd been there a while. Paige knew she should feel something. There was a hot guy in front of her, and she didn't even want to kiss him. She still could only think about Sara.

"It's just a guess. I don't know who you four are talking about. I'm Gabriel Holbrook, Rosewood Police Department. You're mother let me in, Mr. Cavanaugh. I'm here to ask you all a couple of questions about Noel Kahn. I understand the four of you were close friends of his," Detective hotty stated.

"Yeah. We were," Toby nodded.

"Would one of you like to remind me of the events on the night of his disappearance?" Holbrook asked, "I'm new to the department."

"Ez," Caleb suggested, "You could start, then Pay, then me, and then Tobs could finish."

"Yeah," Toby and Paige nodded. Ezra took a deep breath, and brought himself back to the night of his best friend's disappearance.

"Okay. Well, Noel suggested that we have our end of the summer sleepover somewhere different. He suggested the old caves that used to be mines on the edge of town. So we all drove over there, and Noel was the only one that really wanted to go inside," Ezra began, "He eventually convinced us all to go in after him."

"Did he do that a lot?" Holbrook inquired, un-popping the cap on his pen.

"Do what?" Ezra replied.

"Convince you guys to do things you didn't want to do," Holbrook elaborated.

"Look, I don't want to be rude, Officer, but isn't Noel the victim here. Not the predator," Ezra objected.

"Right. I understand," Holbrook smiled, "You can continue."

"After we went inside, we had to find a place to hang. It took about ten minutes, but we finally found the perfect cranny. Once we were there we talked, laughed, ate, drank soda. The typical sleepover stuff," Paige continued, "After Ezra fell asleep there were some pretty creepy noises—"

 _"_ _What was that?" Paige worried. Noel looked at her._

 _"_ _That was nothing, Paige. There's probably just water dripping somewhere," he assured._

 _"_ _I don't know, En. Those were some pretty intense splashes," Toby shook his head, "Maybe we should get out of here."_

 _"_ _Yeah. I agree with Toby. It's really not safe," Caleb repeated. Noel covered his face with his hand. He couldn't believe his best friends were going to ruin their last night of summer together just because they were scared._

 _"_ _Guys, just stick it out. We need this," he begged._

 _"_ _Fine," Paige said._

 _"_ _Thanks, Pay," Noel replied. Paige smiled, and looked at the others. Caleb and Toby nodded too, and they all stayed._

 _Caleb yawned, taking another sip of whiskey. Paige had fallen asleep about five sips ago. Toby and Noel were playing strip poker, and they were both down to their boxers. It was weird to think that in two days they'd all be starting their sophomore year._

 _"_ _You guys better stop. This isn't going to end well," Caleb advised._

 _"_ _Yeah, you're right, Cay," they agreed. As Toby and Noel re-clothed, Caleb wished they had a light source other than the lantern. He had to go to the bathroom, and didn't want to go in the dark._

 _"_ _Would you guys be okay in the dark if I took the lantern for a second?" he asked._

 _"_ _Yeah sure," Noel replied, "Take it."_

 _"_ _Okay," Caleb smiled, picking it up. He stepped out of the cave, and headed into the woods. When Caleb came back, he put the lantern back in the center of the tunnel. Then he settled into his sleeping bag next to Paige and Ezra and drifted off._

 _Toby woke up to the sound of leaves rustling. He rubbed his eyes. He didn't remember falling asleep. Paige, Ezra, and Caleb were sleeping off to the side of the cave, and Noel was nowhere to be seen. Toby stood up. He walked towards the entrance of the cave, and stepped out._

 _"_ _Noel!" he yelled, "Noel!" No answer. Toby searched every inch of the area surrounding the cave. He couldn't find Noel anywhere._

 _"_ _Noel, where are you?!" Toby screamed, checking one last piece of the woods. Suddenly an ear piercing scream filled the air. Toby fell backwards, jabbing his elbow on a rock. But he didn't care. All he could think about was finding Noel. So he headed back to the cave to see if the others had seen him. It was all he could do, other than hope for the best that, that scream hadn't been Noel._

"As I neared the cave I heard Ezra ask if Noel and I were out there. When I got there he asked me where Noel was. I told him I didn't know, but I'd heard someone scream. And then we called the police, and told them this story," Toby concluded.

"Okay. And I understand you have a scar from falling on your elbow," Holbrook stated.

"Yeah," Toby nodded.

"Can I see it?" Holbrook asked. Toby nodded again. He took of his jacket, and rolled up the sleeves of his button down. As Gabriel inspected the faded line, the four looked at each other. Holbrook questioning them again meant there was news about Noel. And it probably wasn't good.


	9. Chapter 9

Ezra stepped through the automatic door to the Rosewood Mall. There was a press conference that Saturday to release the news about Noel. He and the others were invited, and they were supposed to look nice. As Ezra picked up a basket, he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh come on. You can't be serious. I swear I just had a twenty in here," Aria whined.

"Ma'am, we're kind of on a tight schedule. Can you pay for the coffee or not?" the barista warned. Ezra didn't give it a second thought. He came up behind Aria and handed the barista a five.

"The coffee's actually for me," he added.

"Okay…have a nice day," the barista, Kennedy, replied. She handed the coffee to Ezra, and left to answer the ringing phone. Aria and Ezra looked at each other.

"Oh…here," Ezra smiled, giving Aria her coffee.

"Thanks," she blushed, "Uh, listen, um…I'll pay you back tomorrow before class. So be there early." Ezra nodded.

"Should we talk about this?" he asked.

"Hey, you were the one that payed for it. I didn't ask you to," Aria asserted. Ezra laughed.

"Not about that. I mean about the―" Ezra began.

"Oh, the…" Aria interrupted.

"Yeah…" Aria nodded, she took a sip of her coffee, and then looked back up at Ezra. She couldn't help but notice the adorable smile that had intrigued her before.

"But not here," she advised.

"Of course," Ezra agreed. It had been nothing more than a kiss. But it was a kissed filled with passion. And neither Ezra nor Aria wanted to admit it to themselves or each other, but they felt something. And they were still feeling something.

"How about Saturday? I'll text you directions to my apartment," Aria suggested.

"Um, I can't do Saturday. I have a thing. But I'm free Sunday," Ezra informed.

"Okay. I'll text you the directions," Aria declared, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Fitz."

"See you tomorrow, Ms. Montgomery," Ezra replied. Aria smiled, and headed towards the door. Ezra sighed. He couldn't believe this was happening. Ezra's phone buzzed, ruining the moment. He looked down at his phone. _First comes directions, then comes a key, then comes orange jumpsuits smelling of pee. —A_. Did that mean A was planning on telling the police, or that A thought the police would find out anyway? Whatever it meant, Ezra didn't feel like thinking about A at that moment.

"Hey, Ireland," someone greeted. Ezra turned around to face the speaker. It was Alison. The girl he'd had a major crush on for years. Noel had always been rubbing it in his face. He'd even made out with Ali once to show Ezra he had power over him. Wes had told Ezra that Ali was crushing on him now. But it was a little late for that.

"Hi, Ali," Ezra replied.

"Sorry about Noel. I know that must be hard for you," Ali sympathized.

"Must be hard for you too. You guys were a thing right?" Ezra asked. Ali looked down at her shoes.

"Uh no. He kissed me, but that was all," she stated nervously.

"Ah," Ezra spoke, "Well I should get going."

"Yeah of course," Ali smiled, "See you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Ezra nodded. Ezra watched as Alison walked away. Her light blonde ponytail swung from side to side, in perfect rhythm with her hips. She looked very high school in her outfit of denim shorts, a pink pull-over sweater, and black Doc Martens. Ezra turned and headed in the opposite direction. As he neared Men's Wearhouse, Ezra could hear Caleb's distinct voice.

"Lucas, I'm fine," Caleb insisted.

"Dude, you've knocked over three displays since we got here," Lucas exclaimed, "And you texted me to pick you up cause you needed a new suit." Ezra still couldn't believe the makeover that Caleb and Lucas had had while he'd been gone. It was like he didn't even know Caleb anymore. The shy, chubby, little boy that Ezra had befriended was gone.

"Just drop it, bro. It's nothing," Caleb retorted.

"God, are you on your period or something?" Lucas teased.

"It's not funny, Luc. One of my best friends is girl. Don't joke about that. It's messed up," Caleb stated.

"Who peed in your cereal?" Lucas asked, "Anyways, I thought I was your best friend." Ezra went up to Lucas.

"Leave him alone, Lucas," he ordered.

"Heh. That's funny. Coming from you," Lucas replied, "See you later, Caleb. When you decide who your real friends are." He left the store, turning towards the entrance of the mall.

"Hey," Ezra greeted, "Are you okay?" Caleb sighed.

"Yeah. Thanks, Ez," he said.

"No problem, Cay," Ezra smiled, "But are you sure you should be hanging out with Lucas. It doesn't seem like he's over the way Noel treated him." Caleb's expression changed. He looked as if he was deep in thought.

"I know it seems like he's not over it. But Lucas was there for me. When you guys weren't. He was the one that helped me lose the weight," Caleb explained.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry if I messed it up," Ezra spoke.

"Nah. Lucas 'll get over it," Caleb assured, "Today was tough for him I guess. Since I slept over at Toby's with you guys last night instead of at his house."

"I'll take it he doesn't know," Ezra inquired.

"No. He doesn't," Caleb confirmed, "I haven't told anyone."

"Neither have I," Ezra disclosed. Ezra and Caleb stood in an awkward silence. They didn't really know what else to say. Talking about Noel had been a weird thing before the news. Now it was even weirder. To know this piece of information that only Noel's family, the police, and each other knew. On Saturday that would change, but right now that was who knew.


	10. Chapter 10

Caleb slammed his pencil down in frustration. He couldn't figure out the last problem on his math homework, and he really wanted to finish so he could call Lucas. They hadn't talked since their fight that afternoon.

"Screw this," Caleb muttered, grabbing his phone. He was almost done dialing the oh-so-familiar number when he heard the door to his house fly open. Caleb looked up. Usually his mom would say something when she walked through the door. He grabbed a kitchen knife off the counter just in case. All of a sudden something crashed. Caleb saw his mom being pushed against the stairs by a guy. He crashed their lips together, but Mrs. Rivers didn't struggle. Then he realized it was Officer Holbrook. As his mom and Holbrook made their way up the stairs, Caleb's phone buzzed. _Once a party boy, always a party boy. Guess your mom has a different idea of handling something then you do. Kisses –A._ Caleb wondered what A meant by party boy. A party he, Noel, and the others had gone to a couple years ago came to his mind.

 _"_ _Here. Don't lose them," Noel advised, handing out their fake IDs. Caleb looked down at his._

 _"_ _Woah. I look really mature in this picture," he marveled, "Where did you find this, Noel?"_

 _"_ _On your dad's Facebook. It's not you, it's him," Noel explained._

 _"_ _Oh. Cool," Caleb said, trying not to sound disappointed. The five of them walked up to the college student that was checking ID. He very quickly skimmed over the IDs._

 _"_ _You guys are good to go," he rasped, ushering them in. Caleb spotted a lot of upperclassmen he recognized from school. One of them was Toby's older sister, Jenna._

 _"_ _Who's that with your sister, Tobs?" Noel asked._

 _"_ _Oh, that's Wren. Her boyfriend," Toby stated, rolling his eyes. Noel walked up to Jenna and Wren. He wouldn't admit to it, but he'd had a crush on Jenna since he first saw her._

 _"_ _Hi, you must be Wren," Noel greeted, "I'm Noel. Sorry you have to deal with Jenna's insane crush on me all the time."_

 _"_ _Noel," Jenna laughed, "Noel's my little brother's best friend."_

 _"_ _Well…nice to meet you, Noel," Wren smiled. Noel spit on his hand before shaking Wren's. Wren laughed in reply._

 _"_ _Come one. We've got better places to be," Noel announced. When Caleb and the others didn't follow him, he turned around and glared at them. They quickly caught up._

 _"_ _Don't call me if you want to go home early and sleep like the little baby you are, Toby!" Jenna teased._

 _"_ _Shut up!" Toby yelled. As they got deeper into crowd, more people were drinking._

 _"_ _Hey, Gabe! Pass me that beer over there!" Erica, Noel's older sister, shouted. A guy grabbed the bottle Erica was pointing to, and handed it to her. He was wearing a dark blue muscle shirt with the number 12 on it. His very muscular arms were tan and defined. His brown hair was closely cropped with a soft waved fringe. His eyes were a chocolate brown, and there was a very distinctive mole above his lip._

 _"_ _There you go, E," he stated in a very macho voice, taking a chug of his own beer._

 _"_ _Thanks, G," Erica replied, "Noel, what are you doing here?"_

 _"_ _Partying," Noel spoke, reaching for a red cup that was behind Gabe. Erica slapped his hand away. She shook her head._

 _"_ _Oh no you're not," she ordered, "You better go home before the college kids actually get here."_

 _"_ _No," Noel proclaimed, not budging._

 _"_ _Noel, let's just go," Ezra whispered._

 _"_ _You can go, Ez, but that would make you a loser," Noel stated. Ezra didn't move either. Caleb looked at Paige, and then at Toby. It didn't look like either of them were going anywhere. Caleb didn't want to be the only one that left, even though he'd much rather be watching TV right then._

 _"_ _Oh come on, E. We all know I'm the real party boy," Gabe pointed out._

 _"_ _True dat, G" Erica agreed, "Your name should be Gabe 'party boy' Holbrook." The upperclassmen started to chant that, and raised their red solo cups to the occasion. Noel turned away from Erica and Gabe to look at Caleb and the others. His typical smirk was gone from his face. Noel very seldom stepped down from something. But after being shut down by both Jenna and Erica, he'd had enough._

 _"_ _Whatever. This party blows anyway. Let's go, guys," he demanded. And with that the five of them left the building._

Caleb gasped as he thought about it. He couldn't believe that the beer drinking, party boy, that had been taken to the hospital because he was so intoxicated that he'd fallen down the stairs later at that same party, was now a police officer. A police officer that was kissing his mother. It made him sick just thinking about it. Caleb grabbed his phone and headed towards the front door. He needed to get out for a while.

"Hey, it's Lucas. I obviously can't or am purposely not answering the phone right now. Leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you when I can or when I feel like it," Lucas's voice stated. Caleb sighed. He knew that Lucas probably wouldn't answer but it was worth a shot. He was almost to The Grille, and he'd wanted to meet Lucas there and buy him dinner to make up for earlier. The phone beeped to signal that Caleb should start talking.

"Hey, Lucas, it's Caleb. Just wanted to apologize for earlier. Of course you're my best friend. There's just…it's the anniversary of Noel disappearing. I guess it was an old habit. Well, when you get this message, call me back, or meet me at the Grille or something. Sorry again about earlier. Bye, Luc," Caleb spoke. He stuck his phone back in his pocket, and pulled open the door.

"Please," someone begged, "I promise. I will work it off. I just need to eat something."

"I wish I could. But my boss would kill me. We don't even get free meals," Jailik protested. Jailik had worked at The Grille since he'd been able to get a job permit. Caleb couldn't imagine The Grille without him. But Jailik was a senior, so he'd be off to college in a year. Anyone who didn't know him was obviously knew to town. The newcomer had blonde hair and a tallish build. She was wearing high-wasted jeans, and an almost see through floral print, no sleeved, button down shirt. But she was very pretty. Caleb could barely keep his eyes off of her.

"Okay," the girl sighed, "Thanks anyways,"

"Hey, Cay. Someone's a little start struck," Jailik chuckled.

"Shut up, Jailik," Caleb grumbled. Caleb's eyes met the girl's. If there was ever an instance of love at first sight, this was it.

"Hi," she said sweetly, "I'm Hanna."

"I'm Caleb," Caleb replied. Hazel eyes locked with blue eyes. It was like the rest of the world disappeared. All Caleb and Hanna could see was each other.

"Guys?" Jailik inquired, neither of them said anything. Jailik shook his head, leaving to go check on the tables he was waiting on. Finally they were startled from their loving stares by Caleb's obnoxious bang of a ringtone.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Caleb mumbled, pulling his phone out of his pocket to see who was calling him. It was Lucas.

"It's fine. See you around, Caleb," Hanna smiled.

"Uh…yeah. See you around, Hanna," Caleb smiled back. Hanna pulled open the door to The Grille. She walked out, and after waving to Caleb, walked across the street.

"Hi, Lucas," Caleb finally answered his phone.

"Hey, Cay. I got your message. I'm sorry about earlier too. I just wasn't thinking about what this weekend is," Lucas explained, "I'm here if you want to talk about Noel. Or the others."

"Thanks, Luc. For understanding. And for being here," Caleb declared.

"Hey, no problem. Come over Saturday night. I know you said you can't Saturday afternoon. But come for a sleepover Saturday night. I wanna be there for you, dude," Lucas suggested.

"Alright. I will," Caleb agreed, "Bye, Luc."

"Bye, Cay."


	11. Chapter 11

Toby groaned and rolled over as his alarm clock blasted Train's _"Hey Soul Sister"_ throughout his room. He tried to pull his pillow down over his ears as Train sang about "lipstick stains on the front end of my left side brains", but the music was too loud to be blocked out.

"Ugh," he muttered as he pressed the off button. It was 5:30 am. Toby had promised to meet with his old friends before school to discuss A. Toby shuddered thinking about the A message he'd gotten the night before. He grabbed his phone to make sure he didn't dream it. _What's simple, but complex at the same time? A tattoo. Watch out for that family of yours, Tobs. When someone kills, they kill someone they know. Kisses –A_. Nope, wasn't a dream. There it was. His first message from A. He knew it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Toby! Mom said if you're going to make it to the school in time for play auditions you have to get up now!" Jenna yelled from the other side of his door. Toby had told his mom that play auditions were the reason he had to get up so early. But really play auditions weren't for another week.

"I'm up, Jenna," Toby informed her.

"Okay. Whatever," Jenna grumbled, and stomped back down the stairs. Toby rolled his eyes, and headed over to his dresser to grab something to wear. He decided on jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. After getting dressed, he headed downstairs to get some coffee. And something quick he could bring in the car on the way to school. When Toby walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Ian and Jenna sitting on the opposite side of the kitchen counter from the stairs. Ian was reading something in a manila folder while effortlessly cutting up his fried egg, and Jenna was eating a bowl of applesauce with one hand while checking her phone with the other. The door to the house flew open, and Daniel walked in. He was dressed in jean cut-offs, and there was a white shirt draped around his shoulders. It looked like he'd been working all morning. The Cavanaugh's were renovating, so Mr. Cavanaugh had to clear the property from excess leaves and tiny trees beforehand.

"Morning, Dad," Toby greeted, "Morning, sis. Morning, Ian." Toby was still trying to act friendly. Especially after that A message he'd gotten.

"Good morning, Toby," they all replied in unison. Toby didn't know why all three of them were up this early in the morning, but he didn't ask. It was most likely that Daniel had been working all night. And maybe Ian was a morning person just like Jenna, or maybe he was called into work early. Whatever the reason, none of those people was the person that had the keys to the car he had to drive to school.

"Where's Mom?" Toby asked.

"In her office," Jenna replied cooly, obviously trying not to let Toby get her worked up again. Toby knocked on the door to his mom's office.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"It's Toby," Toby responded.

"Oh," Marion uttered, "I'll be right out." Toby looked around the hallway he very seldom went in as he waited for his mom. There was a picture of him and Jenna when they were younger. Jenna's dark brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She had a big, cheesy, smile on her face, and her green eyes were sparkling in the light. She was holding Toby on her hip. His slightly curly blonde hair went a little past his ears. He had a deer in the headlights expression on his face, and his eyes were the bluest they'd ever been. Toby remembered the shirt he was wearing. He'd been obsessed with it at the time the picture was taken. It was a simple white t-shirt with the words _Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart_ printed across the front in light blue. The picture next to that one was of him, Ezra, Paige, Caleb, and Noel. It was taken a couple of days before Noel disappeared.

 _Toby turned to the next page of "The Catcher and the Rye". He was hanging at Noel's house with Ezra, Paige, and Caleb. But Noel was talking to the construction workers out back about what his mom wanted the gazebo to look like, so the four of them were just sitting around passing time until Noel came back in._

 _"_ _How the book, Tobs?" Paige inquired._

 _"_ _It's really good, Pay. I love the way the author describes things," Toby enlightened. Paige nodded, then moved her eyes back to the picture of Erica that was on the mantle. Toby didn't know why Paige was always looking at that picture, but he wanted to find out. But just before Toby could pull Paige to the side to ask her about it, Erica walked into the living room. She had her phone up to her ear, and she seemed to be in some sort of argument with the person on the other side._

 _"_ _That's not what I'm saying, Jason," Erica protested, "I'm just saying we should take a break!" She paused, probably listening to whatever Jason was saying, "No, Jason, there isn't someone else. I promise you there isn't someone else. I just need some time to myself to figure some stuff out." She paused again, "Yes of course I still love you." More of a pause, "Okay. Bye, J." Erica hung up, and stuck her phone back in her pocket._

 _"_ _Hey, guys," Erica greeted them, "Paige, I need to talk to you for a second."_

 _"_ _Okay…" Paige slowly got up. Toby could tell she was nervous to be around Erica. Maybe Erica had threatened her, or hurt her. Toby didn't know, but he was going to figure it out. Erica grabbed Paige's hand and led her out of the room._

 _"_ _God, those construction workers are stupid," Noel stated as he entered, "I had to repeat what I said to them like a hundred times. Wait, where's Paige?"_

 _"_ _Your sister had to talk to her," Ezra replied. Noel rolled his eyes, and plopped down next to Toby on the couch._

 _"_ _Yeah right. They're probably just making out," Noel muttered under his breath._

 _"_ _Huh?" Toby thought aloud._

 _"_ _Nothing," Noel shook his head, "We should take a picture today, guys. My mom insists on having a really good one of the five of us to put on the mantle."_

 _"_ _I can take it if you want," Erica offered, walking in. Paige followed shortly after. There was a huge smile on her face, and her dirty blonde ponytail was a bit messier than it had been when she'd left the room._

 _"_ _Yeah, thanks, Erica," Noel smiled._

 _"_ _No problem," Erica responded. Caleb tugged at the long sleeved, Hershey's, shirt he was wearing, trying to pull it over the top of his army print cargo pants. There was a simple pair of black socks on his feet, and his brown hair was styled sort of shaggily. Paige was wearing white denim shorts, and her Rosewood Sharks Swimming t-shirt. And there were the typical white and black converse on her feet. Toby was in a Star Wars t-shirt, kaki cargo shorts, and Nike flip flops. His blonde hair was slightly long, and the area around his eye was still slightly purple from getting hit in the face with a dodgeball when the five of them were playing at the Rosewood Rec Center earlier that week. Ezra was dressed in shorts made out of kilt fabric, a shirt covered in Renaissance style paintings of frogs, and black rain boots. His curly black hair swirled around his head, and his pink highlights were very noticeable in the light of the mid-afternoon sun. Noel wrapped his arm around Caleb's shoulders, who wrapped his arm around Paige's shoulders, who wrapped her arm around Toby's shoulders, who wrapped his arm around Ezra's shoulders._

 _"_ _Okay, 3-2-1-say cheese," Erica stated._

In the end it wasn't the best picture they'd ever taken as a group, but it was still a good picture none-the-less. It was one of the pictures that was circling news reports for the year after Noel's disappearance. It was the last picture with Noel in it that had been taken before his disappearance.

"Toby, honey, do you want the keys?" Marion asked, tapping him on the back as she exited her office. Toby turned around.

"Yeah, just thinking about, Noel," Toby admitted.

"I know you are," Marion smiled sympathetically, handing him the car keys. Toby took the keys from her outstretched hand.

"Thanks, Mom," Toby smiled, turning to leave the hallway.

"You're welcome. Have a good day at school," Marion answered, going back into her office. Toby drove passed the school to the old playground where they'd used to hang with Noel, and parked in the grass. He could see his friends. Paige was sitting on one of the swings. She was looking down at the dirt under the swing. She was drawing something in it with her foot. Caleb was sitting down in the mulch in front of Paige. He was tossing a piece of mulch up in the air. Ezra was leaning against the swing set. He was looking at something on his phone. Toby reached into the passenger seat of his car to grab his, no longer A free, phone. After slipping it in the pocket of his jeans, he exited the car, locked it, and walked briskly over to the swing set. Caleb was the first to see him.

"Hey, Toby!" he greeted.

"Hey, Cay," Toby replied.

"Oh, hey, Tobs," Paige smiled, looking up from whatever she'd been drawing in the dirt. Ezra looked up from his phone. As usual he was the only one out of the four of them that couldn't put A out of his head for long enough to cheerfully talk to anyone.

"Hi, Paige," Toby spoke.

"Hey, Toby," Ezra stated, biting on his fingernails as he looked back down at his phone. He was just staring at the A text he'd gotten in class the other day trying to figure out how anyone other than Noel could have known about Cece and his dad.

"Hey, Ez," Toby said, "Are you okay?"

"No! And I don't know how you guys are!" Ezra exclaimed, "Someone other than Noel knows all our secrets that only Noel knew!"

"We're worried too, Ez," Paige declared.

"Guys, A could know about, Melissa," Ezra pointed out, lowering his voice.

"I'm pretty sure if A knew about Melissa we'd be behind bars by now," Caleb claimed, standing up so Paige could actually swing if she wanted to.

"Actually not necessarily," Toby shook his head, "They could blackmail us with it. If A isn't Spencer or Melissa they'd probably get more out of blackmailing us then just turning us in."

"You guys don't have to say if you don't want to, but what did your text from A say?" Caleb asked, trying to distract Ezra from what Toby had said.

"I kissed Erica!" Paige blurted out. She'd been debating whether to tell them or not. She wanted her friends to know, but she didn't want them to ask questions that she herself didn't know the answer to.

"As in Noel's older sister, Erica?" Ezra inquired.

"Yeah," Paige nodded.

"So is that why you were always staring at that picture of her on the mantel?" Toby asked, raising his eyebrows. Paige laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't call it staring," she protested.

"You were staring, Pay," Toby assured, laughing.

"Okay fine, maybe I was staring," Paige shrugged.

"So, what does that mean?" Caleb asked, "Are you gay, or bi?" Paige looked down at her feet. Caleb had the tendency to say the wrong thing in those types of situations. Toby reached over and punched Caleb in the arm.

"What?!" Caleb yelled. Toby glared at him, "Sorry, Paige. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," he added, getting what Toby had meant.

"No, Caleb, it's fine. Honestly I don't really know," Paige explained, "I think I may be gay. I haven't really had any feelings for any guys. And I think I might have a crush on the new girl, Sara, but idk."

"Well, it's okay not to know," Ezra reassured, "And if you're, gay, bi, whatever, we'll still love you just the same."

"Yeah we will," Toby and Caleb agreed.

"Thanks, guys," Paige smiled, getting off the swing so she could hug them. As she hugged Ezra he gasped. Paige turned so she could see what he'd gasped at. There were two people in the student parking lot of the school. One of them had long dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a blue button down over a peach blouse, brown leather jeans, and boots. She was pushing the other girl in a wheelchair. The other girl had similar long dark brown hair and similar brown eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved, dark blue, pullover, pink jeans, and tan flats.

"Is that?" Ezra began.

"Spencer and Melissa," Caleb interrupted, having turned to look as well. Spencer turned towards them. She didn't seem to realize who they were from the distance. I guess it was harder to tell them apart from anyone else when it was the four of them, and not the five of them. Spencer continued to wheel her sister towards the handicap entrance. Melissa turned at the last second before they entered the school. She waved. She hadn't recognized them either. They waved back.

"Well they look happy," Toby observed.

"Yeah. I would be too if I'd found a way to get back at the people who'd accidentally paralyzed me and then blamed it on my step sister," Ezra proclaimed.

"Do you think it's them?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. I honestly have no idea who it could be," Ezra shrugged, "I just want to find out. Maybe we'll have something against them?"

"Yeah maybe," Caleb nodded, "Noel did have a knack at getting secrets out of people." All of a sudden the blare of a siren filled the air. It was obviously near the playground. They turned to look back at the school. Sure enough an ambulance was turning onto the street. It drove passed the school, across the grass, and stopped right next to the swing set. The back doors flung open, and a group of paramedics jumped out.

"We got an anonymous call telling us to send an ambulance to the playground by Rosewood High," one of the paramedics announced, "Did any of you make that call?"

"No," the four of them replied.

"None of us are hurt, and we're the only ones here." Toby added.

"I find that questionable!" the paramedic that had checked behind the shed on the other side of the playground yelled, "Bring the stretcher!" The other paramedics hurried over to the shed as quickly as they could, rolling the stretcher with them as they went. They disappeared behind the shed. When they reappeared there was a body on the stretcher. It was a girl. She had long dark hair, beautiful brown eyes, and olive skin. There was serious bruising around both of her eyes. Her nose and mouth were bleeding. From the way the paramedics were handling her it was obvious there was bruising on her stomach and rib areas as well. There were visible cuts on her arms and legs. She looked familiar to Paige, and as Paige looked closer she realized why. She was on the swim team. Emily Fields was the only person on the team that was a threat to Paige, and now she definitely wouldn't be swimming for a while. Paige wondered what had happened to her.

"Jane Doe. Cuts all over her arms and legs. Bruising around both her eyes, and on her stomach and ribs. Looks like it may have been bullying that went too far. The attackers are nowhere to be seen." one of the paramedics announced into the walky-talky he was holding.

"Wait," Paige stated, "She's not a Jane Doe. It's Emily Fields. She swims for Rosewood. We both swim for Rosewood."

"Okay thanks, miss," the paramedic smiled, announcing what Paige had said into the walky-talky, "Is there anything you know about Miss Fields? Anything that may have made people bully her? Any contact information for any of her family members?"

"Um, I don't know. Coach Fulton would probably have contact information for her family," Paige replied.

"Okay we'll send someone to go get that," he spoke. Emily shot up into a sitting position on the stretcher. Paige rushed over to take her hand. She was the only person there that knew Emily, and she thought it might be a comfort for her to see a familiar face.

"Paige?" Emily questioned hoarsely.

"Yeah. It's gonna be okay, Emily. They're gonna take care of you at the hospital," Paige reassured, "And I'm gonna make sure they get a hold of your parents."

"What happened?" she asked.

"They found you behind that shed over there," Paige stated.

"Oh," Emily spoke, "That's how far I managed to make it last night after he beat me up. I thought I was going to die,"

"Well you didn't, okay?" Paige smiled, "And after who beat you up?"

"My boyfriend. He's older. I told him I thought I might be gay," Emily paused, trying not to cry, "He didn't take it that well. As you can see."

"Okay, well he's going to pay for what he did," Paige claimed. Emily nodded, closing her eyes. She was really weak, and wanted to sleep.

"We're going to take her to the hospital now," the paramedic that had been talking into the walky-talky declared, "Thanks for your help."

"My pleasure," Paige smiled, "I can take whoever's going to find Emily's parents' numbers to Coach Fulton's office if you want."

"Thanks for the offer, but we're going to send a non-paramedic who works at the hospital to get it," the paramedic shook his head, "You kids get to class."

"Okay," Paige said. The paramedics loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. They climbed in, closed the doors, and the ambulance drove away. Its lights flashing, and its sirens blaring.

"Who do you think called them?" Ezra queried.

"Maybe A did, but didn't know about Emily," Caleb suggested.

"Yeah probably," Paige nodded.

"It sucks that A can just make calls like that. If Emily hadn't been there, and they'd blamed it on us we could have been in some serious trouble," Toby proclaimed.

"Yeah," Caleb, Paige, and Ezra said. The four of them started walking towards the school. All of them still wondering what they would do about A. The meeting had kind of been a dud when it came to original purpose. But school was about to start, so they'd have to continue it later. After Paige visited Emily in the hospital that is


End file.
